Battle of Pennsylvania – (3) Pittsburgh at (21) Villanova

The Pittsburgh Panthers (18-1 SU, 9-5 ATS) and gifted forward Sam Young will look to keep the third-ranked Panthers in the win column on Wednesday night when they hit the road to take on No. 21 Villanova (15-4 SU, 8-7 ATS) in the final college basketball game at Philadelphia’s Spectrum.

Young, a unanimous preseason All-Big East selection, scored a team-high 22 points on Sunday at West Virginia as the Panthers turned a narrow lead into a convincing 79-67 victory.

"That is what he does," coach Jamie Dixon said of Young, who was named Big East player of the week Monday. "There are times when we want him to get to the basket and post up a little more. But he is shooting a pretty good percentage from three and we want him to get to the free-throw line, which he is able to do a little bit more."

The Panthers covered the spread in the BetOnline Sports book as a 1-point favorite on Sunday while the combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (133).

The Wildcats are coming off a 70-61 victory over South Florida on Saturday as Dante Cunningham scored a team-high 14 points to help the Wildcats cover the 6-point spread, while the combined score played OVER the day’s posted total of 128.

"That’s just a part of the Big East. All of these games are nailbiters," said forward Dwayne Anderson. "That’s what makes this conference so great."

The Wildcats got only seven points from junior guard Scottie Reynolds on Saturday. Since scoring 40 points in a win at Seton Hall on Jan. 6, Reynolds has totaled 41 in his next four games.

The legendary Spectrum in Philadelphia, a place I almost literally grew up in first as a short-time bellboy for the Sixers and years later as a sports reporter and columnist, has hosted two Final Fours among the multitude of other memorable games, both pro and collegiate.

Here is a look at tonight’s key trends, followed by my in-depth analysis and NCAAB Free Pick.

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games when playing Villanova

Pittsburgh is 18-1 SU in its last 19 games

Pittsburgh is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh’s last 6 games when playing on the road against Villanova

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Villanova’s last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh

Villanova is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games at home

The total has gone OVER in 5 of Villanova’s last 6 games

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Villanova’s last 6 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh

NCAAB Odds

Pittsburgh -3½ -110

Villanova +3½ -110

Over 135½ -110

Under 135½ -110

Analysis: While the Villanova Wildcats are playing at home in this contest, I like the Pittsburgh Panthers to win this game and cover the spread despite being on the road. The fact of the matter is that the Wildcats don’t have very many players that can put the ball in the hole on a consistent basis, particularly with Scottie Reynolds mired in a season-long funk!

NCAAB Free Picks: Pittsburgh -3½ Points/Over 135½ Total Points